Taaffe said this was not a quick fix, and although Chang was brutal he has to give Chang the same leeway he gave Maas. Start Chang and once again if he is terrible go to Maas, just like the first 3 times Maas was pulled.
We have to see improvement from Chang even slight improvement, but going back to Maas at this point is a mistake, and we run the risk of messing with Chang's head. Perhaps he is being fed to the wolves starting against Toronto but then its Winnipeg, Calgary, Winnipeg, Montreal... 4 easier games for the kid than Toronto's defence.
If the season is basically over, and lets face it... it is. Maas can be better served fighting for the spot that belongs to Chang.
Going back to Maas would be a mistake at this point. Not because he isnt the better QB, but because you already made the bold move to go to the backup.
He has already shown that is not going to do that. Maas has never been pulled at the start of the 3rd quarter this year (that I can recall), it always seemed to be sometime in the 4th before we would see Chang, despite having first halfs that were equally as bad as the one Chang played. Yet Chang gets yanked after the half.
Taafe's running scared pulling Chang after an admitedly brutal half but no more brutal than many of Maas's efforts. And he even went on record saying Chang would be given a legit opportunity to show what he's got. But coaches always revert to their old guys when they feel the heat even if the old guys have shown they can't get it done anymore. It looks like Taafe has lost any sense of a coherent plan to get the team righted and now he's just grasping at straws.
Starting Chang next week would be like feeding him to the Lions in the Colessium (or whatever we call the Toronto home field today)
Lets make every effort to get Printers on a contract, even if this means having the highest paid QB in the League when we have already lost the year, and floating above the salary cap.
For next week, start Williams and find out how he handles starting duty, instead of back up, and define "where we are" with the backups. You can relieve him with either Chang or Maas, as I'm not looking for a win next week, as the offensive Brain Trust on this team isn't going to figure out Cdn Football strategy in that short time, if they haven't done so already.
Lets play the backups like Davis and Caulley, and have them show us what they've got, and when we know that in another game, lets let the "rested" Lumsden re-emerge against Wpg, Calgary and Montreal, possibly using Printers, if we can get him, and throw down the gauntlet for 2008...
Crash, I like the way your looking at this. Chang does deserve the same leeway as Maas. I was a Maas supporter last year. I still think he's a good QB but this year I've spent more time yelling at my TV for him to move. It's like he's fading back into the pocket and then just standing there waiting for it to collapse. Chang is young, I can understand Taffe's logic at the beginning of the season but this is pretty much the mid way point and this team is not going anywhere this year. This is the time to start the kid and let him sort out his bugs. This is a talented, but young, team and they are going to be a big problem for the rest of the CFL in a few years. Let's suck this year up as a learning and development year. In order to do that some development has to be achieved, ie starting Chang some more. I like Taffe, like his way of thinking and I like what he's done so far. I do question the recent trade and the addition of Getzlaf. He's going to be a great player in the future. I would have kept him. I'm really sorry, I missed the game today due to a family commitment but I'm guessing from the post that Timmy didn't do so well. OK, give him another try at it at least. Good post crash, nice insight.
The play action did not fool the blue teams front seven once. Give Chang some games with a healthy Lumsden and we will see progress. Getting Lumsden the ball 20-30 times a game is the key… we don’t need a superstar QB!
Chang will start and Maas will come in if he struggles. If we had done this about 5 games ago I'm sure Chang would be ready. In regards to the o-line did anyone notice Williams was sacked near the end of the game by a 3 man rush with the game in hand. Brutal is the only word to describe our line play.
I understand, Crash and its okay, I may be wrong (have done that before!)
I’d start Williams because he had a pretty good finish to the game, and needs to start one.
Chang had a pretty horrific game and needs some space to contemplate starting another, but could be a reliever…
Maas is an enormous expense at $300K salary, but we got sold a bill of goods, as he was only a reliever (as opposed starter) and injured to boot.
I don’t know what you get paid in your job, but if I made a gauranteed $300K for 3 or 4 years, I’d have no issues if I was retired and unpacking my wife’s parcels back in Edmonton for a living, if CBC or TSN didn’t hire me as a commentator…
Okay, let me get off that mini-rant and say that we have now sen Chang start…and we need to see Williams start…and it wouldbe good if it was in fact against the same defence to get a “fair comparison” between the two…because its as plain as **** on your shirttail that we are going to have different quarterbacking and coaching next year, which will be the first time this team “matters” in the outcome of the GreyCup matchup…
Start Williams ... because HE is the backup which DESERVES a chance to FIGHT for his RIGHT to start.
The man has been with the organization longer than Chang, and he is SIMPLY MORE TALENTED.
I am STUNNED, that this argument can be made by SOMEONE who KAYBOSHED the mere SUGGESTION that Eakin be GIVEN the SAME Courtesy Last Season !! I mean, ATLEAST, Eakin SHOWED he could throw the ball with some ZIP, and INTENTION.
What, EXACTLY, did YOU see from Chang that would make this POST even REMOTELY APPROPRIATE ??????
The coach already indicated Chang would be given a significant chance to show what he can do as a starter. He played poorly yesterday, but I don't think the coach will change his mind about his plan based on that one outing. I would imagine Chang will start next week, and Maas will be used again if the need arises.
By the way, I thought Maas played pretty well except for that ball he dropped for a turnover. He passed well and threw several long balls accurately, not just the one for a long TD. A few others were dropped that should have been caught. Based on yesterday, I would say it is not correct to accuse him of being unable to throw the ball long, or to charge the team with having an offensive scheme that does not include downfield passing.
Im not going to SIT here and ARGUE something I may or may not have said LAST season. The REASON i make the SUGGESTION now is becuase i feel Chang is a BETTER quarterback than Eakin.
If you even READ anything i wrote its NOT about who is better (Maas or Chang) its about WHAT Taaffe did and said this past week. PERSONALLY I think Maas should still be starting HOWEVER based on what Taaffe said last week I feel its only LOGICAL for him to start Chang THIS week.
Chang has to start again and Williams should be the backup. We need to get this team looking to next year and QB is the position we need to get straightened out. If we could land Printers, fine, but don't count on it. Maas has to go. I think he is improving but two years is enough. This team has to stop going back to veterans who can't get the job done. That's what got this team to where it is. First we held on to McManus as a starter too long and now Maas. If we had kept McManus as a mentor for Maas it may have turned out different, but it didn't.